


Mutual Acquaintances

by himynameisv



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [4]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Matt Murdock Needs a Hug, Mind Control, POV Claire Temple, Possibly OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29382162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/himynameisv/pseuds/himynameisv
Summary: It was about time these idiots met, but preferably not right after Matt had been injured.FEBUWHUMP PROMPT #12: "WHO ARE YOU?"
Relationships: Jessica Jones & Claire Temple, Luke Cage & Jessica Jones, Luke Cage/Claire Temple, Matt Murdock & Claire Temple
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142768
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Mutual Acquaintances

**Author's Note:**

> My first foray into this side of the MCU! Beware: I don't have Netflix and have therefore not actually watched any of the Marvel Netflix TV shows. All of my info comes from the internet, Youtube, or fanfiction.
> 
> So...yeah. I probably messed up the timeline or something, but I tried.

"You mind telling me what happened?" Claire asked softly, dabbing at his cuts with an alcohol wipe.

He didn't answer.

She frowned, checking that the bandages were still secure and putting away her tools. He was still staring off into space when she turned back; and sure, he technically did that all the time, but this time he was unresponsive and it scared her.

"You're safe," she murmured, kneeling before him, taking hold of his trembling hands and squeezing gently.

She grabbed the blanket draped on the couch and wrapped it around his shoulders. He absently snuggled into its warmth.

She sighed, brushing a few strands of hair out of his face. He looked so vulnerable right now, out of his suit and in some too-big clothes Claire had lying around.

He hadn't been too injured, had definitely been through worse, physically; but he seemed to be in shock and she didn't know what to do if she didn't even know what had _happened_.

"You've been missing for two days, Matt," she said softly, smoothing down the wrinkles in his borrowed shirt and wrapping the blanket around him more securely and - and doing pretty much anything she could do that would make him feel remotely better.

"I've been worried, Foggy's been worried." Oh, she should probably call him. She definitely should.

She looked at Matt's glassy eyes again, and noted his shaky breaths. No, not in this state. Foggy could wait.

He blinked, worked his mouth a little. "I didn't - didn't..."

She smiled a little, breathing out in relief. He was talking again! "Didn't what, Matt?" she prompted.

He turned his head to look at her; or, well, face in her direction. "I didn't k-kill," he whispered.

She a ran a hand through his hair. "I know, I know. You wouldn't do that." She refused to believe it.

"I _didn't_ ," he insisted, breathing picking up again. " _Didn't_ , even when he made me. He - he-"

"Shhhhhh..." she soothed. "You're okay, you're okay." He didn't - couldn't - calm down. " _Hey_ , match my breathing, okay? _Matt._ "

"Trying," he muttered. She wrapped him in a hug and they stayed like that until his breathing had resumed to something close to normal.

She closed her eyes, pressing her cheek into his hair. _Jesus._ What had happened to him?

They broke apart, and Matt pouted. The goddamn Devil of Hell's Kitchen pouted. "What's up?" she asked.

"I don't...I'm fine," he said.

"Uh-huh," she replied, shaking her head. Stubborn, the lot of them, but especially Matt. "I'm gonna make you some tea," she said, stepping into her kitchen. "Are you cold?"

"A little," he answered quietly. And _that_ , that didn't sound like Matt. At all. She was going to punch whoever did that to him in the face. Hard.

She hummed a little as she set the water to boiling, knowing that sound helped him focus, helped him ground himself. She had to call Foggy later, when Matt hopefully goes to sleep. He'll be happy, and relieved; and Karen too.

She heard the doorknob jiggling, and frowned. "Matt, if you're trying to _leave_ -!"

"-but that son of a bitch needs to..." A familiar voice trailed off. Jessica was here.

 _Shit._ Matt was still on the couch.

"Who the hell are _you_?"

"Um..."

"Sorry, sorry," she called out, finally pouring the boiling water into the cup and quickly walking out of the kitchen. "Didn't know you were coming." She blinked, seeing that Jessica wasn't alone. "Hi Luke." How Luke always managed to stay quiet and chill she would never know.

Matt let a somewhat dopey smile spread across his face (a bit unusual, but infinitely better than his blank expression from earlier). "Ooh...the new boyfriend."

She smacked his shoulder and decided not to ask how he knew. "Shut up."

Jessica's eyebrows were raised. "Mind introducing us to your friend?"

"Yeah! Guys, this is Matt. Matt, this is Jessica and Luke," she said a bit awkwardly. It was about time all of these idiots met, but she would've preferred for Matt to not be injured.

"Nice to meet you," Luke said diplomatically, a warm smile on his face despite having never talked to Matt before.

Matt turned his head slowly towards them - he wasn't even trying to track their positions visually - and smiled a small and delicate smile. "Um, yeah. Nice to meet you too."

Claire frowned, squeezing his shoulder in worry.

"You're blind," Jessica stated.

Luke gaped. "Jess!" Matt startled a little.

"What? It's true!"

"So they tell me," Matt said quietly, a corner of his lip turned up.

Jessica frowned, looking pointedly at the blanket wrapped around him, as if she knew something, or recognized something that Claire couldn't, even knowing Matt for as long as she had.

"Are those my clothes?" Luke asked, pointing at Matt.

Matt looked down. "They smelled like you," he murmured, almost to himself.

"Uh...go talk or whatever in the bedroom. I'll meet you guys there," she told them quickly, hiding her smile at Jessica's _what the hell_ look.

She heard them walk away behind her, with Luke asking, "Who the hell smells people like that?"

When they closed the door, she turned her attention towards Matt again.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's fine," she said, all mirth flooding out of her. She took the cup of warm tea and pressed it into his hands, still trembling minutely. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

He nodded. "Thanks, Claire."

She leaned forward to kiss his forehead, and then walked towards the others, looking back to find him staring absently at the wall again.

"-are we supposed to do? He's practically invincible," Luke was saying.

"He can't control me. That's something."

Claire closed the door quickly, knowing this was slightly private and not wanting Matt to overhear. Actually, now that she really thought about it, he would probably hear them even if they were in the next building over. Or maybe he was too out of it to accidentally eavesdrop.

She closed her eyes and let out an exhausted breath. _What happened to you, Matt?_

"Your friend," Jessica nodded to the door, "he good?"

Claire shrugged helplessly. "He will be." She walked towards Luke and kissed him on the cheek, ignoring Jessica's gag of disgust despite it not even being that bad. "Sorry about your clothes, by the way. He definitely wouldn't have fit mine."

"It's fine," he assured her. "Was just wondering."

Jessica scoffed. "He's not your ex or something like that, is he?" Claire blinked. Luke shuffled uncomfortably beside her. "Oh my god he _is_."

"Claire!" Luke said, miffed.

Claire buried her face in her hands. "Jessica's here. I'm not saying anything about _her_."

"Yeah. That's 'cause I'm a badass," she said, causing Luke to chuckle.

"What did you guys want to talk about?" Claire asked, glancing at the door as if she could see Matt through the wood.

Jessica grimaced, taking a swig of her drink. Claire narrowed her eyes but didn't comment. "Just wanted to vent. Didn't know you'd have company."

"Didn't know I'd have company, either," Claire muttered to herself.

Luke frowned in concern. "You sure Matt out there's okay? He seemed a bit out of it to me. What happened? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Claire shook her head hopelessly. "I...don't even know myself. So let's talk about something else, okay?" It was a blatantly transparent way to change the course of the conversation, but she was tired, and stressed, and worried.

"So...Kilgrave," Jessica said after a few seconds. "He sent someone after Trish."

"Is she okay?" Claire asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Luke here put a stop to it." Luke nodded in confirmation. "But here's the thing: the would-be assassin is yet another guy whose brain was fucked up by Kilgrave. I just - we have to put a stop to this. Now."

"But we don't know how," Luke added. "Like, damn - I hate this guy too, but there has to be some kinda foolproof plan."

"Yeah, obviously," Jessica said. "Earmuffs, noise-cancelling headphones, the works."

Claire shook her head. "There are so many things that could go wrong with that. And what about everyone else he could control?"

Jessica threw her hands up in the air. "Well what are we supposed to do?!"

The door clicked open. Claire whirled around. "I think I may be able to help with that," Matt said calmly. Gone was the shock, the terrifying blankness of his face, the hollowness. Claire recognized that look.

It was Daredevil's, calculated and determined, a hint of rage bleeding through. But still _Matt_ , still idiotic, reckless Matt. This was the face Matt wore right before Claire would have to stitch him up. This was the side of Matt that scared her, because someday, it would get him killed.

"Fuck," Jessica said. "Were you listening this whole time?"

He tilted his head to the side a little. "It's hard not to."

" _Please_ , we weren't being that loud. Claire," she said, turning towards her, "you never told me your ex was such an asshole."

Claire winced, but Matt didn't react. "He kind of...has super hearing?"

Jessica's _what the hell_ expression was back. "What?"

"And, like, super smell and super taste and...super senses, in general."

"Except for sight," Matt piped in.

"Did you _want_ him to eavesdrop on us?" Jessica asked.

Claire shrugged, uncomfortable. "I honestly thought he was too out of it to hear us! Sorry," she added to him.

"It's fine."

"Wait wait wait, back up. What do you mean you can help us?" Luke asked, a grounding presence to keep the conversation on track.

"Yeah. What's in it for _you_?" Jessica asked.

Claire was starting to piece together Matt's last two days, and they weren't pretty. She pressed her lips together and hoped she was wrong.

Matt was still in the doorway, blanket around his shoulders grasped in his hands like a lifeline. "Let's just say I've been intimately acquainted with his...abilities."

"He let you go?" Jessica asked skeptically, crossing her arms.

Matt shook his head, a bit of the melancholy coming back. "I...have a strong moral code. When Kilgrave, um, asked me to kill someone for him, I kind of broke out of his control."

Luke blew out a breath. "Damn."

Matt smiled mirthlessly. "Yeah."

Claire simply stayed silent, arms wrapped around herself. Matt had gone missing the past few days because of Kilgrave. Matt had almost _killed_ someone because of Kilgrave.

Kilgrave deserved everything that was coming.

Hopefully, these idiots wouldn't get themselves killed in the process.

"Who _are_ you?" Jessica asked abruptly.

Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"You're Matt. You're Claire's ex and you're blind. Your other senses are good, sure; but Kilgrave wouldn't have 'hired' you unless you were someone real special."

"What? The super senses aren't special enough?" Matt asked, actually offended.

"Isn't it a thing to have your other senses compensate for the sense you lost?"

"Well, not to his level," Claire said.

Matt concentrated, before saying, "Your preferred drink is whisky."

"Yeah. So?" Claire was mildly worried that Matt would end up accidentally insulting her or something.

"You spilled a bottle of it on your shirt this morning, and the shirt hasn't been washed since...Monday, I think. You don't wear perfume, but you have some of it floating around you. Your sister's, I presume? And you had a supreme pizza for lunch today, as well as a drink that was at _most_ 20% coffee." His cocky smirk was growing. Claire half wanted to punch him in the arm, and half wanted to celebrate because this was Matt and Matt was back but Matt was about to get himself killed trying to take down Kilgrave. "Am I right?"

"Well, I'm sold," Luke said after a few seconds of silence, extending a hand out to him. "Luke Cage. Proper introductions this time."

Matt reached out and shook it. She noticed how his hands still shook slightly when he wasn't holding tightly to something. "Matt Murdock."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "The lawyer? Took down Fisk?"

Matt smiled. "That's the one."

"You sure you're not a mind reader or somethin', Murdock?" Jessica asked gruffly. "Messing with my brain isn't cool."

Matt winced. "No, no mind stuff. Just...smell."

"But seriously, who are you? There's gotta be something more."

Matt sighed, looking down - lowering his head - before facing them again. "Ever heard of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen?"

**Author's Note:**

> *cue epic music*


End file.
